


Champagne Problems

by uncafeavecbarnes



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, CJ's Twisted Valentine's Day Marvel Writing Challenge, Challenge Response, Champagne, Cultural Differences, Desi Character, F/M, Heartbreak, Marriage Proposal, Sam Wilson Feels, Surprise Party, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29467671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uncafeavecbarnes/pseuds/uncafeavecbarnes
Summary: Sam Wilson, a different man from a different world. Yours is a love story of fighting the odds. A love story that the sceptics will forever call, champagne problems.
Relationships: Sam Wilson (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Sam Wilson (Marvel)/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	Champagne Problems

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buckeverlasting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckeverlasting/gifts).



> Hello, my loves. This is part of CJ's Twisted Valentine's Day Marvel Writing Challenge, based on the prompt, “Ideally you would have said ‘yes’ to that.” Oh gosh, this is a painful one. If you're a regular reader of mine you know that I have a shameless preference for writing porn with plot. Angst is very much out of my comfort zone, but, I've given it a good go and I hope I have done both Sam Wilson and Taylor Swift the justice they deserve. Truthfully, I hate myself for writing such a sad story for Sam because he should be showered in eternal love and affection, but I'm glad that I at least tried to push the boundaries of my usual stories just for his character. CJ, I hope this is worth the wait for you.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcome. You can also follow me on Tumblr.

**He booked the night train for a reason. So he could sit there in this hurt. Bustling crowds or silent sleepers. He’s not sure which is worse.**

_Washington is cold with a bitterness that only comes from heartbreak. Iciness seeps into skin. Hot breath swirls in wisps in the cool air. Cobalt skies earn a firm tug of your coat. None of it could compare to the sharp shards Sam is still picking from his heart. And your own heart aches for him._

_New York calls. Your persuasions unwanted, justifiably so. Family, friends, hotels, none are enough to warrant a stay. Perhaps distance will lessen the ache. Perhaps distance will heal his hurt. Staying in a city with you would only be salt in his wounds. Your presence right now pains him, unspokenly so. You both know it and yet, you make no effort to leave and Sam, he has few objections._

_Comfort, hesitation, love that can’t be commanded. A few precious minutes, one final memory together. Sam, handsome in his smart suit and you can’t help but think he imagined his tie loosened for a different reason. The way your hand had smoothed it over, fingers straightening the knot, touch lingering all to breathe in the scent of musk and tonka bean. Now, it’s an image of suffocating tiredness. You, in a powder blue lengha, it trails delicately along the pavement. Kameez embroidered in rich gold and silver, just visible under your coat. Sam had called you a princess, his beautiful princess. Now, he can barely look you in the eye._

_Your offer to wait until his train arrives met with awkward pause._

_“Ideally, you would have said ‘yes’ to that.”_

**You dropped his hand while dancing. You left him out there standing. Crestfallen on the landing. Champagne problems. His mother’s ring in his pocket. Your picture in his wallet. His heart was glass, you dropped it. Champagne problems.**

_Gold fades to bronze. You spin around slow and take in the room. Once glitter, it washes over with sepia. Your heart starts to race, hammering so hard it threatens to burst out of your chest altogether. It’s all you can hear, a methodical thump that drowns out music that’s suddenly a soundtrack to horror. The light leaving Sam’s smile will haunt you forever, a calculated risk you take anyway._

_Reluctance tightens his grip. Your fingers grazing his palm as they withdraw. Disappointment plagues him, roots to the spot as he watches you step back. Skirt in a whirl, champagne in a cascade over flutes by the stairs you hurry to climb. You’re out of place, running from a fairytale. Prince Charming won’t let his princess leave so soon. That’s how the story goes._

_Sam’s hand catches yours. There’s a question that burns in his eyes. One he will never ask you, you deny him that chance. Little effort needed to convince yourself it’s a blessing to him. Broken hearted and hollowed footsteps. One step back, he follows. Two more, he stops. The ring in his pocket burns heavy._

_Prince Charming is only there to watch Cinderella leave._

**He told his family for a reason. He couldn’t keep it in. His sister splashed out on the bottle. Now no-one’s celebrating.**

_Family. How close you had grown to call them yours, too. Once honey on your tongue, now a sour taste. You swallow it down, along with sadness you owe them the courtesy of hiding. Promises of forever cherishing memories. You can only hope they will remember you with equal fondness. Perhaps one day, they won’t remember you at all._

_Tonight will be forgotten. Nothing more than just an expense that Sarah will write off. Bottles stowed away, confetti swept up, decoration that she will save for a celebration worthy of her brother. One without you._

_Family. Sam has always considered them everything. He has always been proud of how they welcomed you and in turn, how you loved them. Cultures explored together and lessons learned. Family histories shared and lineage traced. Holidays spent together and new dishes cooked. No doubt, tonight was to be a celebration to mark a new adventure together. Now morose more than merry._

_Sam will find peace one day, but Sarah, she will never forgive you._

**Dom Pérignon, he bought it. No crowd of friends applauded. His hometown skeptics called it champagne problems. He had a speech, he’s speechless. Love slipped beyond his reaches. And you couldn’t give a reason. Champagne problems.**

_Avenging is Sam’s world. Not yours. Pathetic, you’re all too aware of how flat it sounds the second the words leave your mouth. But it’s reason enough to scare you. Danger you can’t hope to control. Duty attracted you to him and it’s duty that ties your stomach in knots every time he steps out of the door. Cold nights alone, eyes drawn to your phone. Dread that only subsides with his return._

_A relationship that fought the odds. Love that was met with cynicism. Happiness that was aggressively loathed. Cultural differences, the sceptics said, cultural differences would destroy you both. How you had laughed and learned. Patience and compromise, not without difficulties. But you were determined to never let your cultures drive a wedge between you. Success is bittersweet._

_Sam falls into a silence that’s deafening. Another pang in your heart at seeing him so dejected. Shaky fingers tearing carefully folded paper, the pieces scatter around the trash can. You stare, neat scrawls of his handwriting accuse you. Each a piece of his broken heart. You’ve shattered it into a million shards._

_And you have no right to stop him collecting his things from the hotel room._

**One for the money, two for the show. You never were ready, so you watch him go. Sometimes you just don’t know the answer, until someone’s on their knees and asks you.**

_Sam has barely a second glance for you. You can’t find it in your heart to blame him. A broken shell of a man, a far cry from the strength and laughter you’ve come to know. Pain guides him, not hatred. Pain that slows time until it stops. Pain that snaps the door shut curtly. You find yourself alone._

_Better late than never, or so they say. The realisation that this is something you will never want. Not with Sam, not with anyone. That’s why you have to let him go. Marriage and family, fulfilling as they may be don’t lie in any future you see for yourself. Aspirations rooted in culture, you had always assumed they would be in your reach one day. Only, the day is here. And it isn’t the day you expected. Breaking Sam’s heart was never part of the plan, though._

_Sam deserves a better goodbye than this._

**“She would have made such a lovely bride. What a shame she’s fucked in her head.” They said. But he’ll find the real thing instead. She’ll patch up the tapestry that you shred.**

_It’s less of a party, more of a spectacle. Once a sparkling evening, it’s now tarnished. Magic long gone. Champagne bubbles pop like defeated sighs. Confetti litters the floor, carelessly discarded, walked over. The ballroom barely resembles a celebration. Sullen melancholy filling it like at a funeral parlour._

_Few family, even fewer friends. Hushed whispers of your name, even less subtle hisses in your direction. Tears prick at your eyes and they burn. Burn hot with disappointment and anguish you almost stop to fight. Each step gives you confidence to believe that you aren’t selfish. But, each insult is a dagger to your stomach. Pride and ego matter little, but you’re seized by a sudden need to let them see you aren’t a bad person._

_Sam is the only person you want to convince of that truth. Cinderella must chase Prince Charming. Perhaps there is hope to repair the damage you’ve caused. Remind him that love exists beyond you and he will find it. He'll find her._

**And hold his hand while dancing. Never leave him standing. Crestfallen on the landing. With champagne problems. His mother’s ring in his pocket. Her picture in his wallet. He won’t remember all your champagne problems.**

_Nothing compares to a bottle of champagne. Anticipation that makes your heart race. The pop and outpour of sweet bubbles. Dizzy delights that some find not to their taste. Divisive, more for show than tell. Champagne problems._

_“Goodbye, Sam.”_

**Author's Note:**

> [Come say hello on Tumblr](http://uncafeavecbarnes.tumblr.com/)


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